Soon You'll Be Able to Order McDonald's on Your Phone

It's official: All McDonald's locations will offer mobile ordering by the end of 2017. That means ordering late-night fries just got so much easier. Almost too easy.

Once its app gets all of the necessary updates and restaurants can get up to speed, Mickey D's will become the first fast-food chain to use a mobile-ordering system at all locations, Eater reports.

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Once it launches, you'll be able to place an order on your phone and then pick up your burger and fries in store, curbside, or in the drive thru—instantly cutting out any wait time.

Though you can order ahead of time, the McDonald's app will prompt you to check-in when you arrive, so the order will always be served warm, McDonald's website explains.

Wendy's is on McDonald's tail, with about half of stores set to offer mobile ordering by the end of the year, Business Insider reports. On top of that, Burger King and Arby's are testing mobile ordering systems as well. Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A already offer it in certain locations.

This shift makes sense; mobile ordering has grown immensely in the last few years, accounting for more than 7 percent of Starbucks' total orders, Quartz reports. Though it has run into some speed bumps along the way. Stores like Starbucks and Chipotle have experienced issues streamlining the ordering process, sometimes resulting in longer than normal wait times. And other quick-service chains like Panera Bread and Sweetgreen offer the swipe-and-pick-up method, too.

Fast food has been slower to enter the game—until now.

ORIGINAL POST: March 29, 2916 at 12:46 p.m.

It's about time the Golden Arches comes up to speed with its fast-food colleagues. Nearly a year after Domino's introduced emoji-ordering on Twitter, McDonald's is just now getting around to testing its system for smartphone orders.

According to TheStreet, Big Mac fans will soon be able to order their beloved burgers on their cell phones—using the same smartphone app that will host the company's forthcoming loyalty rewards program. Currently, McDonald's app only offers basic functions like a restaurant locator and details on the menu.

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"We will be piloting ordering capabilities through mobile in some geographies outside the United States this year," McDonald's chief digital officer Atif Rafiq told TheStreet, though he declined to specify which locations would be included in the trail run. There's also no word on whether these smartphone orders will be available for delivery or just in-store pick-up.